Working out loud – asynchronously

Premise

Due to technological advances and the recent pandemic, organizations have learned that distributed teams can work effectively and productively to meet specific goals. “Working out loud is a way to communicate the progress of your work by working together without talking. This can be done by learning how to work together without speaking and making meetings more focused and effective. Combining both can increase team cohesion and interdependency.

Our working environment in 2024

The two-year pandemic caused a radical global experiment in remote work, and by and large it succeeded. Distributed teams of knowledge workers proved they could continue to operate and be productive at home, on the go, or in the office. Many studies showed that productivity increased with hybrid work.

Many companies wanted to open up their expensive offices and get back to normal. They put in place rules that required employees to be on site for several days a week. These hybrid work models typically focus on where work happens, positioning in-office against remote locations. As a result, the debate over post-pandemic work modes misses the larger point of how work happens.

To move beyond this binary debate centered on location only, we advocate for the term “flexible distributed workstyles.” This concept better encapsulates the many ways organizations are now empowered to redefine their models for the modern workplace. Amid the pressure to optimize resources and adapt objectives on the fly, it’s clear that the strategies that brought us here are insufficient for the journey ahead.

Bayer, the large German pharmaceutical giant, has recently announced that it is getting rid of middle managers and asking its 100,000 workers to self-organize. CEO Bill Anderson read the employee handbook, which was longer than the novel War and Peace and had some revelations. While mainly a cost savings decision, employees shared with Andersen, "It's just too hard to get ideas approved, or you have to consult with so many people to make anything happen." Bayer will have 5,000 to 6,000 teams that work together on projects they choose for 90 days. The teams will then meet again for their next project.

Now is the time to reimagine collaboration to bring resilience and agility to teamwork in your organization. The massive shift in work we’re experiencing isn’t just a burden to overcome. It presents an opportunity to modernize away from where work happens and focus on how work gets done with more engagement, accuracy, agency, and efficiency. Agile practices, in particular, inspire new ways of working and practical approaches you can use right away.

From Agile to New Ways of Working

When organizations learn about Agile, they mistakenly think it's about working faster. This is why most agile initiatives fail within organizations. Agile was meant to be about people and interactions, working with customers, and always responding to change by linking strategy to work items. Power moves from the C level and managers to teams where open communication and visible work create a clear set of tasks, and team members understand how each work item meets larger goals and objectives. Continually iterating and time-boxing work with feedback loops and a focus on incremental continuous improvement reduces risk. Teams then reflect on their performance to address misalignments and to increase team competence and confidence.

Most companies that have teams are missing a key ingredient to team success: interdependency. Most teams are loose confederations of individual-contributor groups that make enough individual effort and have others compensate for their results. Team flow refers to an interdependent state of optimal collective experience within a group working towards a common goal. The team can perform at its best when members are fully engaged and deeply focused on their skills and work items and how they fit within group efforts.

The concept of team flow expands on the idea of individual flow states, a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He studied those moments when individuals are so absorbed in an activity that they lose the sense of time and are completely immersed in the task at hand. For example, top athletes and virtuoso musicians describe being in a heightened flow state while performing.

When a team experiences flow, several characteristics are typically present:

Shared goals: The team has a clear, unified understanding of what they aim to achieve.
Alignment of skills and challenges: Each member's skills are well matched with the challenges they face, ensuring engagement without causing overwhelm.
Strong collaboration: Members coordinate seamlessly, with high levels of communication, trust, and mutual support.‍
Collective focus: The team shares a deep, concentrated focus on the task, minimizing distractions and divergent interests.‍
Sense of control: Team members feel a sense of control over their work and outcomes.‍
Immediate feedback: The team receives instant feedback on their performance, allowing for quick adjustments and sustained engagement.

Achieving team flow has real consequences for businesses. Team flow results in significantly enhanced productivity, creativity, and satisfaction among team members. Team flow takes you from status updates to knowing the status all the time. Continual real-time communications create status loops which help the team understand what tasks are "done.”

Leaders and even managers can’t control team dynamics and interactions directly. Many companies have made their organizational structures simpler and cheaper. They focus on the responsibilities of each person and team and use their motivations. This approach creates the conditions for team flow to flourish. With distributed and flexible workstyles, this includes several factors:

Providing dynamic and adaptive spaces to collaborate.
Establishing a common language of practices that guide teamwork
Investing in leveling up general collaboration skills across the organization.

We propose Agile “ways of working” as a set of practices that build upon hybrid work by empowering individual contributors and teams to self-organize and manage their work items. But, in a modern, post-pandemic world, that’s more challenging than at any time in the past.

Why is asynchronous collaboration essential?

“This meeting could have been an email.”

We’ve all seen various permutations of memes and cartoons poking fun at the absurdity of most meetings. Meeting culture grinds down company engagement, the inability to get work done, and slows progress. Most meetings don't have a clear agenda or specific exit goals — and the result? More meetings!

Meetings can often be replaced by learning how to use asynchronous communication. This is where people work on shared tasks at different times. In our personal lives, we do this with social media and have adapted to an asynchronous-first model.

A Forbes article, "The Art Of Asynchronous: Optimizing Efficiency In Remote Teams", details how creating a culture where asynchronous work communication happens: there is a "reduced reliance on synchronous meetings and messaging to get work done, workforces see increased productivity, time for deep work, and thoughtful responses while enabling a more seamless employee experience regardless of location and time zone." Asynchronous work is supported by synchronous and collaborative on-site or virtual meetings. Mural also wrote an article on this topic, “6 essential steps for building an async-first culture.”

With the shift to integrated platforms, asynchronous communication doesn't require anyone to be simultaneously in the same room on the same call or otherwise engaged. More than likely, you’re already familiar with this. As more teams use platforms like Microsoft Teams and Google Workspace, they can see individual contributors' additions and comments as they happen. They can also change task items in real time. Examples of async communication include email, chat, comments on a document, and recorded video presentations.

There are many advantages to asynchronous team collaboration:

Enhances flexibility: Asynchronous methods free team members from the constraints of synchronized schedules, allowing them to contribute when they are most focused and prepared.
Promotes inclusivity: Research from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management reveals that a small fraction of attendees dominate the conversation in conventional meetings. Asynchronous collaboration democratizes voice, enabling every participant to share insights in their own time and manner.
Fosters creativity: Traditional meetings can stifle creativity, confining the brainstorming process to a specific time frame. In contrast, asynchronous collaboration gives individuals the space to think deeply, allowing creativity and innovation to flourish.
Increases productivity: Asynchronous collaboration can significantly boost the entire team's productivity by enabling contributions at peak motivation and readiness moments.

Affecting a change in team culture and chemistry isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Individual teams should have a degree of autonomy that addresses motivations, schedules, and workstyles most appropriate for team members. However, there should be a baseline social contract that all teams aim for to provide continuity from team to team. Mural has a good article on team charters, which creates a baseline of agreed-upon desired team behaviors.

Reaching a desired team culture and velocity

Team velocity is critical to keeping individual contributors focused and morale at a healthy level. But before we get into it, let’s define what we mean by velocity in this context.

Velocity is the team's ability to finish work quickly and efficiently to reach a goal. This means they complete a certain number of tasks to achieve that goal.

Asynchronous collaboration is about the ability of team members to balance individual work preferences with the agreed-upon pace (velocity) of a team. It doesn’t eliminate or even reduce workloads. But it does give each team member back control over when teamwork happens, and that’s critical.

When a team’s rhythm of collaboration is mostly synchronous, diverse styles of working across members suffer. Not everyone is most effective at a given timeslot for a meeting. Some may be in time zones. Others may be morning people, while the rest are night people.

To maximize the team's strength, it should account for individual strengths and weaknesses. This is especially true for Agile teams. While face-to-face interactions and the success of ceremonies like sprint planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives depend on being in the same room (virtual or otherwise) with your colleagues, you can make these moments even more meaningful by knowing how and when to incorporate asynchronous work.

The challenge is learning how to balance more traditional and asynchronous meetings within your team.

Challenges to working out loud

Asynchronous teamwork, characterized by its flexibility and autonomy, also brings challenges that can affect team cohesion and individual satisfaction. The practice of "working out loud" aims to enhance transparency and communication, but isn't without its hurdles:

Feeling isolated and disconnected: Without the regular, face-to-face interactions of a traditional office environment, team members might feel isolated. The lack of informal chats and physical presence can make fostering personal connections and a sense of belonging within the team is harder.
Feeling reactive rather than proactive: In asynchronous setups, there's a risk of team members feeling they're constantly catching up or reacting to decisions made in their absence. This sensation of being out of the loop can lead to frustration and a perceived lack of control over one's work and environment.
Increased visibility and accountability: While "no hidden work" enhances transparency and accountability, it also means individual contributions are more visible to the entire team. This increased visibility can lead to pressure and stress, as team members may feel they're always under scrutiny.
Notification fatigue: The reliance on digital communication tools means team members are often bombarded with notifications from various platforms. This constant stream of alerts can be overwhelming, leading to notification fatigue and reducing the effectiveness of these communications.

To address these challenges and preserve the benefits of asynchronous collaboration, teams can consider the following strategies:

Build team rapport: Regularly scheduled virtual social events and "get to know you" sessions can help reduce feelings of isolation by building personal connections among team members.
Empower proactivity: Encourage team members to take ownership of their tasks and contribute to decision-making processes. Tools like shared calendars and project management platforms can help everyone stay informed and involved, even when working asynchronously.
Balance transparency with support: While increased visibility is beneficial, it's important to cultivate an environment of support and understanding. Regular feedback sessions and acknowledgment of achievements can help mitigate the pressure of constant visibility.
Manage notifications wisely: Encourage team members to customize their notification settings and designate "focus times" where they can work undisturbed. Teams can also establish guidelines on the urgency of different types of communication, helping to prioritize responses and reduce the overload.

Role of digital platforms

Digital platforms have become the backbone of modern teamwork, especially in environments prioritizing asynchronous collaboration. The transition to digital-first workspaces has underscored these platforms' critical role in facilitating efficient and effective communication, project management, and collaboration across distances.

No one platform can meet all teams' needs in one place. Many different platforms may need to be combined and connected through API services. Organizations should define a core set of requirements for the enterprise. Management should be open to team suggestions for more services that could be helpful as tools that go with other tools to make the whole organization better.

In teams, working on tasks usually happens asynchronously, but most task items are hidden from other team members. Hidden work can misalign teams, so teams normally schedule meetings to review work. The “work” can take many forms, but usually are documents. When working out loud, the work output and process needs to be documented. The work process is managed through a kanban, or when the work status is highlighted. All task conversations happen, such as a new task, task backlog, in progress, done, QA, and closed. Work items are assigned to specific people. Tags are associated with a task for easy search and filtering, a milestone is assigned, and then team members communicate its progress and work questions and links within a task.

The central role of digital platforms in modern workflows

Ubiquity in workflow integration: Digital platforms have emerged as the primary means for accomplishing tasks and coordinating efforts in contemporary work environments. Their integration into daily workflows is now so complete that many teams can scarcely imagine completing their tasks without them.
Diverse needs, diverse platforms: The complexity and variety of tasks that modern teams face mean that no single platform can cater to every need. Teams often rely on a mosaic of tools, each selected for its ability to address specific aspects of their work efficiently.
An interconnected ecosystem: The true power of modern digital tools lies in their interoperability, largely facilitated by APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). These connections allow different platforms to communicate and share data, creating a seamless ecosystem where information flows freely between tools, enhancing the team's ability to work cohesively.
Navigating notifications: A crucial feature of these platforms is their use of notifications, which, when managed well, keep team members informed and responsive. However, as noted, notification fatigue can become a challenge, making it essential for teams to strike a balance that keeps members informed without overwhelming them.
Mural as a collaborative hub: Platforms like Mural have carved out a niche in fostering team alignment and brainstorming. By enabling visual collaboration, Mural helps teams organize their thoughts, ideas, and plans in a shared, digital space. Its strength lies in its ability to serve as a central brainstorming and planning tool and its integrations with other platforms.

Put into practice working out loud

It isn't as difficult as you might think to put working out loud into practice. Like anything new, it’s good to start small, make progress, get the benefit, and then expand to other rituals and practices over time, where confidence drives competence. Done right, a team can go from a whisper to full-throated communications.

Organizations and teams these days have a range of tool options, and work typically gets diffused through many platforms. The problem is that its visibility and status become hidden when work is diffused. In working out loud, teams need to discuss what platform is used for what: General team communications, the use of thematic channels, where work items are stored on shared drives, a task tracking Kanban platform, the use of specific work/task items, and that all work conversations happen in that item,

Working out loud addresses three key areas of work:

Work status is about the state of a work item at any given time‍
Work progress is about the continual progress of the work or the back story behind a work item‍
Team cohesion is about the state of working relationships within a team

Work status is very important as it is a snapshot of a work item that has been started, is in progress, is ready to review, or is done. Status drives priorities, and they continually change in relationships with one another. A key way to communicate status is through a Kanban, which has individual work items and timeline pipelines to visually see the status of all the work items a team has to complete. Some tags can be assigned to individual work items to filter items by theme. For example, if a task is blocked, a team can add a ”blocked” tag to the work item and also mention someone in the work item that they need help unblocking a task.

Work progress is important as it communicates the effort and details of completing work. A simple way to discuss progress is in a short daily standup, which focuses on individuals discussing what they will do today if they need help and if there are any blockers. A Kanban work item is a core part of progress where teams can update progress by continually posting about specifics and mentioning others. Hence, they know the progress and do not just add text but visual concepts to consider video and other work assets that may reside on shared drives with hyperlinks. A team may shift from asynchronous progress updates to synchronous sharing sessions like a weekly showcase of work items to take stock of team investments.

Team cohesion is about the continual state of interpersonal relationships that affect interdependence and work. Social contracts can be an effective way of a team to identify desired behaviors they would like to see in a team and guide behavior and actions. At the end of a delivery cycle, the team can do a synchronous team reflection, which focuses on using the social contract to evaluate what went right, what went wrong, and what could be improved for the next delivery cycle.

Conclusion

The definition of work has been changing for decades. As organizations have responded to technological and social changes, work has changed. For many decades, work was based on a rigid command and control model, and Taylorian focuses on efficiency, where managers define what to do and when work is due model. The pandemic accelerated the redefinition of work as collaborative and distributed, where teams are self-regulated, and work isn't about the number of hours but delivered value.

Managers and layers of people bureaucracy are giving way to leaner, more focused employees and prioritized work. The work process is shifting to focused ongoing conversations, flexibility when individual contributors work, and a continual knowing that progress is being made or problems and bottlenecks that can be addressed in real-time.

Management can no longer dictate to employees how to work. If they do, they do it at the peril of organizational harmony and effectiveness. As our article has highlighted, sharing and distributing power and accountability through teams increase organizational resiliency. Our experience as designers, managers, and leaders is that organizations should embrace new ways of working and be open to course correction to improve work culture and outputs continuously.

‍

This article was co-authored by Jim Kalbach, Chief Evangelist at Mural